The deals include rebuilding the long-defunct Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, which could bypass the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Published On 18 Jul 202618 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
Iraq has struck dozens of agreements and partnerships with American companies, many in the oil sector, during a visit to the United States by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.<\/p>\n
\u201cA total of 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding, cooperation agreements and partnership declarations were signed between public and private sector entities in Iraq and the United States,\u201d the Iraqi leader\u2019s media office said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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They include \u201ccooperation and partnerships involving the ministries of oil and electricity \u2026 with ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell and Halliburton\u201d, as well as several deals related to the construction of a major crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n
Iraq also signed a deal with Starlink, which dominates the global satellite communications sector, to introduce services to the country.<\/p>\n
The preliminary deals, signed at a US-Iraq business summit at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Friday, come as Baghdad seeks to move away from dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping and oil exports have been heavily disrupted<\/a> due to the US-Israel war against Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Iraq and Syria signed a cooperation agreement to reconstruct the long-defunct Iraq-Syria oil pipeline, which runs from the oil-rich Kirkuk region in northern Iraq to Syria\u2019s Mediterranean port of Baniyas.<\/p>\n Iraq\u2019s state news agency reported that major US energy company Chevron would carry out the project under the agreement.<\/p>\n The US Department of State said it welcomed Iraq and Syria\u2019s plan to rehabilitate the pipeline, for which a \u201cUS-led international consortium\u201d would \u201cexecute the technical and financial aspects\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cUpon rehabilitation, this groundbreaking project will have an initial transport capacity of two million barrels per day of crude oil,\u201d the department\u2019s statement said. It described the pipeline as \u201ca critical energy corridor linking Iraqi oil production to Mediterranean export markets and beyond\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2018Make Hormuz an afterthought\u2019<\/p>\n The US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, said Iraq\u2019s latest oil pipeline agreements would lead to a programme \u201cthat will make the Strait of Hormuz an afterthought\u201d.<\/p>\n In addition to the Syria pipeline project, Chevron signed two other agreements with Iraq focused on boosting oil production, according to the company\u2019s president of corporate business development, Jake Spiering.<\/p>\n In total, Iraq\u2019s initial agreements with US firms, spanning the energy, healthcare and technology sectors are worth more than $60 billion, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n